Introduction
Puck is a versatile ganker/initiator with a lot of options in any given situation. No guide can tell you when to use which skill, but the idea is to help you understand the potential that lies within the hero. Most importantly when paying Puck, don't forget that you are only 1/5th of your team and you aren't going to be dropping their carry like Lina or throwing down DPS like Naix. With your team, you can devastate team fights and play a key role in the game.


If you don't know what the numbers on the animations mean, the first number is the startup time - if something is canceled in this time, nothing will happen. The second number is the time after the attack or spell that a hero animation is playing but it can be canceled by any command. You should cancel the secondary animation if you're experienced enough to not cancel the attack itself, but it's not as bad as some heroes (e.g., Crystal Maiden). This is most important when chasing someone down because it can help you get in a crucial extra hit by canceling attacks into movement.

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Skills
There are two main builds, both starting with level 1 Orb and level 2 Shift. These two are picked first to keep you from dying, giving you both an escape and a nuke dodge. Mastering Orb + Phase Shift is the first thing you will need to do with Puck. The basic combination is Orb away from opponents, then Shift to avoid a stun / lethal nuke, then replace Orb before it expires and after it's far enough away.

The Waning Rift build in the first tab scales better and is more difficult to dodge, plus it provides a solid silence and protection against melee. You still have Orb to escape, but it isn't maxed first because its utility doesn't improve over levels. It's a better build when paired with a lane partner who can disable/nuke, but not as good for soloing middle as it requires you to get close to targets.

The Illusory Orb build can still be used in a side lane if you don't need the silence or aren't facing any melee. Additionally, Orb's damage doesn't scale as well as Rift but its mana cost doesn't increase, so if you're bad at managing mana it can be more useful. Orb can be useful to escape up hills or take shortcuts when chasing by going over impassable terrain.

Phase Shift is a unique ability that can prevent damage from any source. Manually cast, it lets you dodge stuns like Vengeful Spirit's, Sven's, Lina's, etc. On autocast, it can dodge instant damage like Bounty Hunter attacking you out of invisibility, but it can also dodge Zeus' Lightning Bolt if you're in Static Field range, Mirana's Arrow, and Spiritbreaker's ultimate. When you use it and whether or not you use autocast depends on your experience, the matchup, and what enemies are near.

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Items
Blink Dagger is vital because it combos perfectly with Phase Shift. Phase Shift gives you time to avoid being hit so Blink Dagger will not be on cooldown (it goes on a 3 second cooldown when you take damage from heroes).

Power Treads are usually unnecessary since you are going to be doing burst damage early on and you will want to get Boots of Travel later for the mobility and the global presence. You may want to get it if you have a strong pushing team with enough Arcane Boots and heals to keep you from needing to go back to base. Treads also can provide +8 Strength, but unless you have a very squishy team, you do not need them and should be avoiding damage as much as possible.

Ring of Basilius, Drum of Endurance, and Urn of Shadows are usually picked up on other heroes because you need to focus on getting your Blink, but they all work fine for Puck. If other heroes can carry them, don't get them. The mana regeneration and armor from Ring is useful but Bottle is better. Drum of Endurance helps you chase and run but you already have skills for that and are better off with Boots of Travel. Urn of Shadows is less important than Bottle + Null Talisman since you want to control runes and increase Intelligence over Strength for a better mana pool and a bit more damage.

Eul's Scepter of Divinity and Force Staff are usually picked up when you're getting silenced a lot, because they function as escapes when you can't use Phase Shift and your Blink Dagger is on cooldown from hero damage. They can function as luxury items as well if you don't have enough gold for the real luxury items.

The other luxury items are fairly self-explanatory. Ghost Scepter and Shiva's Guard provide late game defense against DPS heroes like Drow Ranger or Juggernaut. Scythe of Vyse is just an amazing item that adds an additional disable to your team, so if you don't need or already have defensive items, get it. The situational items in Build 2 are very rarely needed and are better on other heroes most of the time.

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Laning Phase
Try to get mid solo, focus on last hitting for a quick bottle and getting the runes. Use orb to beat opponents to runes if you have to, and look for ganks whenever you can. Since your abilities are AoE, you can often get double kills if your team pays attention. Watch your opponents' reactions when you go to gank, because sometimes they give away whether they have wards or not. Sometimes you'll be able to get a kill at middle, but unless they have a carry there, it's less worthwhile than helping your carry get kills and farm or ganking their carry to shut him down. Also, you have 550 range so it's difficult to win harass battles middle if they put a 600 range hero there and/or your Orbs get dodged. Don't be afraid to ask your team to buy Observer Wards if they don't do it themselves - your ganks from rune control will give more than enough return on investment for you team mates.

If you're bot/top 2v2, you'll want to go for kills around level 5/6 if you're laning with a decent early hero, so harass and courier yourself regen items if needed. Last hitting and denying is tougher with 3 other people in the lane, so if your lane mate has better base damage than you, try to pressure your opponents when they go for creeps. If you're with a stunner or even a good slow, you can get close and combo Orb/Rift to get at least 1 kill. Other important things to do include pulling jungle creeps if you're in the proper lane, ganking their jungler if they have one and you're in the nearby lane, and helping mid get runes if needed.

If you're bot/top 1v2/1v3, play it safe, stay in the fog as much as possible, and avoid getting disabled using Orb/Shift. You have low base hp and you'll probably want to go for Bracers first instead of Nulls. Hopefully you avoid death long enough to get a bottle/boots, but if not try to get a Magic Stick and Town Portal Scrolls. You won't get many last hits wth your low base damage and if they're denying the lane so it doesn't push, just use Orb to get last hits when it's safe and you won't immediately need it to escape. Try to get your team to buy you a ward so you can stop them from pulling creeps if they're doing so.